Dyed Eggs
Originally, Tea Eggs acquired their unique crackle pattern from being boiled in soy sauce.

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But over time, they’ve evolved far more colorful markings. Though they’re easily domesticated, should you spot these in the wild, approach delicately, pinkies up.

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These cascarones — the feistiest, most festive variety of the dyed-egg family, traditionally cracked on the forehead — can achieve their brilliant colors with natural dyes.

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Tons more after the jump.

Architectural Eggs
Neither of these conceptual entities have hatched yet, but you’ll know how to spot them when they do. Designer Michael Rosenthal predicts that someday, this humungous ovoid eco-hotel will tower over Miami.

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Industrial designer Zhdanova Irina’s self-contained, mobile, huevo-shaped kitchen — dubbed the EGGo — fits a water-reservation tank, a stove, and a sink in its roly-poly frame. (Click the link for more photos.)

^Link

Antique Eggs
Long extinct, here’s the outer husk of an 1895 Cadbury Egg, a specimen that enters the fossil record a mere 16 years after the first White House Easter Egg Roll.

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Hollywood Eggs
These cinephile eggs — previously seen mimicking the world’s scariest Easter Bunny, Frank from Donnie Darko — have recently taken to impersonating WALL-E’s sleek futurebot EVE.

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Imposter Eggs
Much like the luna moth with its predator-spooking eyespots, these strange creatures oh-so-cleverly camouflage themselves as eggs — don’t be fooled!

Cupcake as egg.

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Creme brulee as egg.

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Yarn as egg.

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Pound cake as egg.

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Rice Krispies treats as eggs.

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Not-So-Ancient Eggs
Despite their mind-boggling monikers — Thousand-Year-Old Eggs, or Century Eggs — these exotic edibles are aged no longer than a few months before they take on their strange black-and-amber hue (and strong sulphurous taste).

^{Photo courtesy Fotoos Van Robin
Link}

X-Ray Eggs
We’re not sure why these ethereal eggs have evolved to sport such porous shells, but they sure are lovely.

^{Link to eggs by Franc Grom}

^{Link to eggs by Ron Cheruka}

Sculpture Eggs
A close relative to the X-Ray Egg, these sculpted beauts may masquerade as houses and baby buggies, but we can see right through them.

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Almost Visible From Space Eggs
Like some kind of physical manifestation of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, these enormous fried eggs blanketed the Netherlands for six months last year.

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Just Plain Purty Eggs
Though not terribly functional, these eggs turn heads with their stunning plumage.

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And here’s a far more high-tech species.

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Egg Tracks: A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Egg Cartons
When eggs shed their cartons, they need not make landfills their new natural habitat. Here are a few examples of creative, eco-friendly uses of egg cartons.

Egg cartons = art.

^{Link (plus 20 other interesting green uses)}

Egg cartons = lights.

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Egg cartons (recycled) = shoeboxes.

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And here’s a new conceptual carton that “tessellates to allow easy stacking to minimise transport costs.”

^Link

Happy egg hunting, everyone!

Related posts: ZipiZen #1: A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Eggs

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But this year, we’re focusing on the math (sort of, anyway), with a spread of funny pie charts.

Let’s start things off meta, with a pie chart about pie.

Liked that, did you? Well, how about this? (Not sure where they’re getting their figures, but I’ll bite.)

In case this discussion was getting too cerebral for you …

No humble pie — this is pity-the-fool pie.

Because we can’t really presume to be nerdy without invoking XKCD.

Wakka wakka wakka!

Clearly, this graph has not taken these science-fair projects into account.

And an insightful peek behind the curtain of music journalism!

That’s no moon …

Not graphed: “Number of good post-Part II Godfather sequels.”

Funny? No. Delicious? Possibly.

Likewise, these Economist pizza boxes are not so much laff-worthy as they are fiendishly clever. (Or perhaps depressingly desperate.)

Not sure what this ad is selling, but looks like there’s a 60% chance I’ll be charmed by its cleverness.

And mind games, courtesy Bizarro.

Should you be in the market for more graph-related humor, you will not be disappointed by:
GraphJam
Indexed

Related post: http://zipinotes.com/happy-pi-day/

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Bored Night has three great 2-D illusions on their site (definitely check out that lurking pool mosquito), but this creepy humanoid is my favorite.

[images courtesy Bored Night]

I can’t even fathom the kind of logistics needed to execute this decorative trickery.

[image courtesy 2Loop]

With this painting (a comment on the the California Water Wars), I spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure out where the art ends and reality begins. Ceci n’est pas une pipe?

[image courtesy John Pugh]

Blue Sky’s “Tunnelvision” mural gives me chills for some reason. (It’s something about the colors — it’s like a tunnel through time.)

[image courtesy Blue Sky]

Behold: Trompe-l’oeil at its most freakout-inducing.

[image courtesy Hemmy.net]

This handpainted eagle ruffles a few feathers … IN MY BRAIN. (Click here for loads more.)

[image courtesy yoke.cc]

A bit of Banksy for you.

[image courtesy canonsnapper]

And of course, no post on modern-day trompe-l’oeil would be complete without Sidewalk Chalk Guy.

[image courtesy gprime.net]

Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

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Deluxe Chocolate Egg
Description: Noted for its authentic crackable shell and chocolate center. Two known species: Ovochoccolatus naturalis and Ovochoccolatus bling.

Vegreville Pysanka Egg
Description: Descendant of the much smaller pysanka, or Ukrainian decorated egg, and the cutting-edge (by 1974 standards) computer-aided geometric models of Ron Resch. Consists of 2,208 equilateral triangles. Commissioned as a tribute to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of Vegreville, Alberta.

Military Envoy Egg
Description: Always accompanied by a flock of symbiotic Doughboys. Although the Military Envoy Egg is nigh invulnerable around its circumference, predators can easily breach it from above.

Organically Dyed Egg
Description: Easily distinguishable by its unusual coloring, derived from various organic materials such as red cabbage, cherries, onion skins, coffee and green herbs.

Emotional Egg
Description: In contrast to its blank, stoic relatives, the Emotional Egg is capable of a vast expressive range — from sheer terror to absolute panic.

Woolly Egg
Description: Due to its soft, fuzzy exterior, the Woolly Egg is able to withstand falls from even the greatest heights. Enjoys being petted. May smell funny when wet.

Adorable Bento Egg
Description: The Adorable Bento Egg is an expert mimic, able to contort itself into a variety of forms.

Lego Egg
Description: Another master of disguise, the Lego Egg’s unusual camouflage allows it to infiltrate toy boxes and hobby shops; unfortunately, there’s not really much point to it.

Sprouting Egg
Description: A bizarre genetic anomaly, the Sprouting Egg’s shell hosts a variety of grasses and herbs.

Hope you enjoyed ZipiZen! This is the first in what is to be a regular series of theme-based posts that owe a huge inspirational debt to Web Zen. Stay tuned!

UPDATE 4.12.09: If you enjoyed this post, you’ll probably get a kick out of its sequel, A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Eggs, Part II.

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